


Light gone dark

by AkikoFumi



Series: Superhusbands Writing Challenge [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avalon Protocol, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Tony Stark, Injury, M/M, Major Character Injury, Marvel 616/MCU Crossover, Unhappy Ending, kind of, mcu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 06:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8276180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkikoFumi/pseuds/AkikoFumi
Summary: It was a vicious fight. And they were running out of time.So Tony did what he had to do.Because he had to make sure his team would be safe - no matter the cost.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [syriala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/syriala/gifts).



> Written for this Prompt on Tumblr: "okay so there's a version of the iron man suit that is programmed to KEEP FIGHTING IF TONY DIES WHILE INSIDE THE SUIT. SO IMAGINE ITS SOME NORMAL FIGHT AND HE TAKES AN ESPECIALLY BAD HIT BUT THEN ITS OVER AND THE TEAM FINDS OUT HES BEEN DEAD FOR AN HOUR. I NEED THE ANGST "
> 
> This is not happy! Read the warnings!

The battle was vicious. It had been going on for _hours_ and they were still swarmed by enemies.

Tony wanted to laugh; _killer robots_ sounded so normal by now but they were living up to their name right now.

More than once one of them had come too close, had barely avoided the final hit. Tony didn't know how long exactly they'd been already fighting.

Even Steve and Bucky were out of breath by now, scarcely holding up.

The HUD flashed another red warning at Tony. It had been doing this for a while now, constantly reminding him that he'd taken a few too many hits already, that he was in terrible pain.

“JARVIS, when the fuck are Reed and his team finally showing up?”, the brunet asked tensely as he dove headfirst towards the street, just in time to shoot a robot that had tried to sneak up on Thor. Out of their whole team, the demigod was the only one who seemed not too affected yet.

“Mister Fantastic and his team have unexpected troubles, sir”, came the reply. It was definitely _not_ what Tony wanted to hear.

“What's keeping them?!”, he snapped – and then cursed loudly as one of the robots suddenly extended a claw-like appendage and aimed it at him. It tore through the suit's leg as if it wasn't made out of metal and Tony couldn't keep down the pained noise that escaped him when the sharp edges cut into his flesh.

He kicked it with his other leg, aimed his left hand at it – only to have the HUD flash red with another warning. Energy running low.

Tony cursed louder. This really wasn't looking like it was going to end well. He heard Steve's concerned voice through the comm, asking him if he was okay. Seconds later, an arrow hit the bot straight through its camera-slash-eye, finally disabling it.

Clint, perched on a rooftop, gave a salute when Tony looked at him.

Blood ran down his leg but the brunet took off again, ignoring both the warnings on HUD about the damage done to the suit and JARVIS' voice informing him of the blood loss. He didn't have time to care about this. In the distance, he saw how Bucky got attacked by three robots at once and while it wouldn't have been a problem hours ago, _now_ the Winter Soldier was reaching his limits.

Tony threw his whole weight into the robots, throwing them off of Bucky. The impact damaged the suit further though, leaving a large crack in the plates covering Tony's stomach.

“Sir”, JARVIS spoke up and he sounded just as concerned as Steve had. “Sir, the power is reaching critical levels. I advise-”

“You can advise all you want, J”, Tony snapped as he shot yet another bot just before it could slice open Steve's side. “I can't leave now. I-”

The words died on his tongue as something large collided with him. Tony felt the impact with his whole body, the armor, damaged as it was, barely able to shield him. He heard shouting over the comm, heard Steve's frantic commands but it wasn't making sense.

His head was hurting. There was blood running over his forehead and it took Tony a second too long to understand what was happening.

A stray bot, larger than the others and apparently way more dangerous, had slammed into him and disabled the thrusters of the jet boots. Tony blinked against the blackness creeping around the edges of his vision. The bot had thrown him into a building, but now he was on the ground and-

There was a large, spear-like appendage. Tony watched as the bot raised it high and it was only thanks to the fact that JARVIS could remote-control the suit that Tony didn't get stabbed right there.

The armor turned on its own – but it wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack.

Tony gasped in shock when the spear tore through his side, not even registering the pain right away. He didn't know what happened then, kind of blacked out due to the pain that suddenly became unbearable. When he opened his eyes again, Thor was standing in front of him, hammer raised and looking every bit the warrior king that he was.

However, the brunet paid it no mind. He stared at the flashing warnings, bright red and painful on his eyes.

“Sir”, JARVIS sounded almost panicked now. “Sir, the ARC reactor is damaged, you require immediate medical attention-”

Tony closed his eyes. “The suit's reactor is still intact?”

“Sir-”

“Is it still intact?”

JARVIS was quiet for a moment. Then, with his voice carrying emotions Tony had never programmed for him, he replied: “Yes, sir, the reactor powering your armor is still intact.”

The suit could keep going. It was only a question how long _Tony_ would keep up.

“JARVIS... activate the Avalon Protocol.”

Again, there was a beat of silence. Then, JARVIS confirmed the command and asked: “Sir, do you wish to talk to Captain Rogers?”

Tony's heart clenched painfully. It seemed like an eternity ago that JARVIS had asked a similar question, just when Tony had been about to die, too. He could still remember the soft tone in his AI's voice when JARVIS had asked: “Should I call miss Miss Potts?” And wasn't it unfair? Tony had only had so little time with Steve. There was so much more he had planned-

“Sure”, Tony said, trying to ignore the numbness that already spread through his body. Trying to ignore the sting of tears in his eyes. “Patch me through, J.”

The battle was still going on, as vicious as ever. It really was not a good moment to get sentimental, but Tony wanted to hear Steve's voice.

“Steve?”, he asked through the comm. “Steve, I need to-”

“Codenames in the field, Iron Man!”, Steve snapped back immediately. “Cut the chatter. Focus on the fight!”

Tony swallowed. Was it his imagination, his adrenaline-filled brain that blurred his vision?

“Steve”, he tried again. It was slowly getting harder to move.

“I love you.”

 

 

“ _Steve.”_

Tony's voice sounded all wrong. Tense, somehow. Then Steve heard him say “I love you” and again, it was so out of place, it brought the blond to a brief stop. Tony's voice was filled with emotions, Steve could hear it even through the comm.

He wanted to ask if everything was alright, but they were still fighting, still were in danger – so he didn't.

It took some more time before the Fantastic Four finally arrived, and even more time for them to actually win the battle.

Steve could barely believe that they had managed it. He looked around, eyes finding each of his teammates and allowed himself a faint smile. They'd won. They were alive.

It was over.

“Avengers, copy. Everyone alright?”

One after another confirmed it. Thor landed a couple of meters away, Clint in tow. Natasha came back with Bruce. Bucky limped a little and his metal arm was damaged in places, but he gave Steve a cocky grin when their eyes met. They all looked banged up and exhausted, but they were okay.

Steve turned and looked up into the sky, searching for the familiar red-and-gold figure.

“Tony?”, he said. “Get over here. Iron Man. Copy.”

He _almost_ got a little worried when there was no immediate reply. Overall, Tony had been awfully quiet for the last half of the fight, and Steve tried to ignore the bad feeling he had. Sure enough, moments after his call, he heard the whine of repulsors and then Tony landed not too far away from them.

The posture of the armor though was off. All stiff and mechanical.

Steve's smile died on his lips. Had Tony gotten hurt? Lost consciousness inside the suit?

“Tony”, Steve said, his tone serious and urgent. “Tony, open the suit. _Tony!_ ” He pressed his fingers to the faceplate. Dread pooled coldly inside his stomach; a sort of foreboding that made Steve feel sick. He dug his fingers into the smooth metal, attempted to free it, but the plates were so dented, the faceplate didn't budge.

“JARVIS, open the suit”, Steve commanded. He could hear the worry in his own voice that made it sound harsh, but he had to see Tony's face. Had to make sure he was okay.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the suit's plates began to move. It sounded horrible as the crushed and bent metal slid away with effort.

Steve caught a glimpse of Tony's face when the faceplate lifted up and he had a split-second to think “Something is wrong” before Tony was already falling forward.

None of them was fast enough to catch him.

They all moved at once, rushing to get to their fallen teammate and it was Natasha who had her hand first pressed to Tony's neck – and who froze the second she touched his skin, looking up at Steve with wide eyes.

“Steve-” Her voice was barely above a whisper and oh, God, Steve knew what that shattered look of disbelief and pain meant, even before she said anything.

“He is-”

Steve dropped to his knees and reached for Tony. He didn't dare to feel for Tony's pulse, only grabbed his shoulder and turned him over.

The ARC reactor was dark.

Not only dark, but it was _crushed._ The glass covering it was broken, and even though Steve didn't understand anything about the technology that was the ARC reactor, he could tell that it was damaged beyond repair.

Steve stopped breathing. He stared at the man he loved, stared at the little device that had kept him alive. The little blue light that had been Steve's comfort during many haunted nights.

He stared and stared, seeing but _not_ seeing anything at all.

  
  


“Captain Rogers. Sir died 37 minutes ago.”

JARVIS' voice cut through the ringing in Steve's ears.

“How?”, Steve managed, his voice raw with unshed tears. His eyes were burning, his whole body hurting but somehow he was still holding himself together.

“ _How?”_

He ran his hand over Tony's bloodstained cheek. It felt all wrong; cold and clammy, not warm like usual. Steve saw that his fingers were shaking when he brushed a few strands of hair out of Tony's forehead.

“Why didn't he call for help?”, Steve asked, the question not aimed at anyone. He felt cold all over, could feel himself coming apart at the seams while his mind reeled, trying to understand the impossible.

“The Avalon Protocol”, JARVIS started. “It is a protocol designed to keep the Avengers safe. It keeps the suit going to help with a fight, even after Sir's heart stopped beating. It is.... essentially a protocol that puts the lives of every team-member over Sir's own life.”

There was something like anger in JARVIS' voice. Anger over his own helplessness, but Steve couldn't acknowledge it.

“Sir never allowed me to change the commands of this protocol”, JARVIS proceeded. “Even though my primary function was to keep him safe, this protocol is the one exception. Once activated, there are no overrides for it, either.“

Steve didn't hear much more.

Somewhere, far away in the back of his mind, a conversation replayed in his head. It had happened so long ago.

“ _You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play. To lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you. You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.”_

He wanted to scream. He had misjudged Tony from the start, had treated him so poorly for too long, had needed too much time to make it up. And now there was no more time left.

Because Tony was dead.

All air left his lungs. Everything just sort of... _stopped._

Then there was a hand on Steve's shoulder. Warm, comforting.

Thor's expression hid nothing, openly showing all the grief, the hurt, the disbelief that Steve felt.

And that was what broke him.

He crumbled, a raw sob escaping his throat and he bent over Tony's lifeless body, curled over the dark, crushed reactor and cried.

 


End file.
